Perkins Gilman’s short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," is the disheartening tale of a woman suffering from depression and how severely her condition is misunderstood by those around her. The setting of the story is in itself a character in the narrator’s story. The old mansion with the yellow wallpaper has many symbols used by the authors to explain the desperation of the narrator’s desperate loneliness. The ironic part of this tale is that her cure of “rest” only pushes the narrator further into her madness. The woman in this story is an ironic symbol of all women in her time, she is unheard and alone in her illness.
The ugliness of the yellow wallpaper can be compared to the ugliness of her life at the time of the story, the way her husband doubts her illness and her not being able to break free from his grip. The nursery symbolizes how women were seen on the same level as children. A woman’s role during this time was one of confinement and the barred windows are symbols of this. The narrator tearing down the yellow wallpaper to find the woman represents her attempt to regain her sanity. The wallpaper is her confinement and by tearing it down she frees herself.
Katie Stephens English 1102 Dr. Strickland 9:30 TR Symbolism, Irony, and Theme in “The Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” tells the story of a husband's attempt to do away with his wife's insanity by keeping her isolated and restrained from expressing herself through writing. Gilman includes an abundance of irony and symbolism to describe the thoughts and actions of the narrator. The author uses these elements to help the reader come to the conclusion that the narrator feels oppressed and controlled along with other women who were felt to be “confined to womanly roles” in society in the 1800s. The theme of the story suggests that women during this time were imprisoned by the male dominated society. There are many uses of irony in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”.
Yousef. N Mr. Thomas ENG4U1 March, 25, 2013 A Women’s life, from a Feminist Approach, “The Painted Door” In the story by Sinclair Ross “The Painted Door” the main character, Anne, represents a weak, unhappy, selfish and insecure woman who is not pleased with her husband’s life choices. Employing the Feminist approach to “The Painted Door” reveals striking aspects that would otherwise be imperceptible. In society, often times a woman is shown as a person who is incapable of being alone; she will always need someone with her too keep her satisfied. Firstly, one can see this when it shows how Anne feels about being alone and what she does to make sure she is not alone for the night.
Women have always been thought of as the less domineering sex. All through history females have fought the stereotypes of being simple housewives with no greater use then producing babies and maintaining a household. This repression, combined with the social systems of years past has lead woman to feel inferior and naturally acquire an internal dependency toward the males in their lives who are viewed as superior. Many notable characters in literature have carried out the role of this inferior spouse and are no doubt created from the hostility of oppression women have felt for hundreds of years. We see two of these characters in Delia from Zora Neale Hurston’s story “Sweat” and John’s wife in Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper”.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper depicts how men oppressed women in a patriarchal society. The narrator describes her struggles to deal with her physical confinement by her husband and his sister and her mental confinement by her postpartum depression. This story gives vivid descriptions oh how her illness consumes her and her inability to deal with it because of her husband's denial. Gilman uses her words to illustrate the mental confinement that the narrator has to go through, the complete effect, and how she reacts to her confinement. The short story starts with the narrator describing the physical features of the colonial house.
Merely Teasing Charlotte Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” both demonstrate how society, at the turn of the century, seemed to make women feel enclosed or trapped. The narrator in “Yellow Wallpaper” and the main character in Chopin’s story, Louise Mallard share many of the same desires and characteristics. Their desire to get out and be independent eventually gets them punished. In both stories, it is clear that the narrator or character is a female. From the way the narrator talks in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” describing her husband and house and the decorations, it is obvious she is a female.
Cinthia Lorenzo Mr. Ridings English 1302 13 February 2015 “The Yellow Wallpaper” as a guide to the Injustice of a Women Throughout many centuries women have been fighting for a voice in society. Unfortunately for Charlotte Perkins Gilman, writer of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” women had a limited amount of saying on what was right and wrong. During this Victorian time, men were the strongest and women depended on the men. Gilman expresses the lack of women’s voice during her century by demonstrating the act of women oppression and symbolism to express her message in the story. Initially, Gilman demonstrated the lack of freedom the protagonist has with her husband.
Mrs. Mallard longed for freedom “There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.” and through that window, was her freedom. Just like Mrs. Mallard, the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was confined to a home with no leave. Charlotte Perkins Gilman portrayed an emotional attitude for the story about how the woman gradually becomes insane due to isolation by her husband. Women in this time period knew they would be provided money and shelter for the rest of their lives, and they would be viewed as having filled society's role for woman.
Jamie Christopher Dorothy Byrom English 1101-27 September 19, 2012 The Bars on the Window In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, readers discover a unique symbol. The symbol discovered is the window and, more so the bars placed on it. The plot of the “Yellow Wallpaper” includes a young woman who, trapped in a house is unable to do anything but rest. As she rests she writes even though she is not supposed to and readers see her decline into what seems to be insanity. The window’s bars show the narrator trapped in her situation when bars are usually on windows to keep people out, not in.